http://www.spectrum.niaaa.nih.gov/features/alcoholism.aspx

There are more ex-smokers today than current smokers and the vast majority have quit on their own. The research also suggests that the majority of heroin addicts stop on their own when they are ready.

Substance use changes the brain, but so does everything else from prayer and meditation

http://andrewnewberg.com/

to driving a taxi cab in London

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/677048.stm

The normal outcome of addiction is recovery without treatment. The goal of treatment should be to speed natural recovery

Copyright © 2012, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

1) The case of recreational substance use where the only negative consequences are the result of the drug laws and not the result of drug use itself. In this case it is the drug laws which are sick, insane, and diseased, and not the drug users. We also include recreational alcohol intoxication in this category because we find the US governments definitions of moderate drinking to be insane, sick, and diseased. People who enjoy their drugs or booze without harming themselves or others need to be left alone. People who use substances recreationally are neither bad people who need to be punished, nor are they sick people who need to be treated, they are good and healthy people enjoying the exploration or alteration of their own consciousnesses. The province of the law stops at the surface of my skin.

There is a general agreement that moderate drinking of alcohol is not a disease. However, I also propose that recreational alcohol intoxication is not a disease: it is an entertainment. “Binge drinking” is a deliberately pejorative term intended to demonize recreational intoxication by associating it with out-of-control behaviors like drinking and driving or going on three day benders. However, there are many individuals who exceed the limit of 4 drinks per day (3 for a woman) and do not engage in drunk driving and do not go on multi-day benders which start with getting drunk in the morning. In fact, only a tiny percentage of people who exceed moderate drinking guidelines engage in these behaviors.

2)  There are people who want to change their drug or alcohol use because it is causing them problems which they do not like. We should definitely help these people on the path of safer use, reduced use, or quitting altogether. However, telling these people that they are diseased and incapable of changing their behaviors without a “higher power” or an AA group or some damn thing is not helpful. Quite the opposite, when people believe that it is impossible to change their behaviors because they are diseased, and when they believe that they are not responsible for their actions because their actions are the result of a disease over which they are powerless, then they do not change..Albert Bandura tells us that the people who are successful at changing are the ones who believe that they can change. Therefore we should tell people that they have bad habits which they are capable of overcoming with knowledge and scientifically proven techniques. Telling people that they are powerless and will drink and die unless they attend AA for life only turns them into lifelong AA junkies ready to relapse at the drop of a hat.

3) There are sociopaths and people with anti-social personality disorder who regularly drive drunk, engage in intoxicated violence, and generally do not give a f*ck how much damage or hurt they do to other people whether they are intoxicated or not. These are bad people who need to be locked up to insure the safety of the community. Personally I would like to see the breathalyzer ignition interlock be made a standard piece of safety equipment on every car driven in the USA.

CONCLUSION

The only people who benefit from calling substance use a disease are the treatment providers who want to charge insurance companies money and the 12 step groups who want to raise attendance numbers.

It is very unfortunate that the DSM characterizes behaviors as diseases or non-diseases on the basis of popularity rather than objective scientific evidence. Hence, when homosexuality was unpopular and stigmatized in the US it was a DSM disease, but when it became an acceptable lifestyle choice it was voted to be a non-disease. Likewise the APA refuses to recognized caffeine dependence because the majority of shrinks are unwilling to give up their morning cup of coffee and their sodas.

In a proper society of free men all vices are legal, including drugs, religion, gambling, alcohol, prostitution, homosexuality, etc. People have the right to choose their own vices and to avoid the ones which they do not like or find are problematic for them personally. We recognize that it is a great mental illness to impose one’s personal moral judgments on others rather than to respect their freedom to choose for themselves to engage in behaviors which do not harm others. This disease of Puritanical Busybodyism is what needs to be added to the new edition of the DSM.

 Copyright © 2012, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

We have found that the following guidelines are helpful for HAMS meetings, whether live, in a chat room, or by email:

1. The tone of discussion in HAMS groups is based on Miler and Rollnick’s Motivational Interviewing–adapted to a peer group setting. We avoid being confrontational and encourage people to share as much or as little information as they choose themselves. We let people choose for themselves how to use the group in a manner most beneficial to them. We encourage people to pursue goals which they choose for themselves, and do not attempt to choose goals for them. HAMS supports every positive change from safer drinking to reduced drinking to quitting altogether.
2. Generally telling other people what they ought to do is not nearly as effective as sharing how you solved a problem yourself. Therefore, in most cases it is better to use the first person pronoun “I” and share experiences than to use the second person pronoun “you” and give advice. Of course there are exceptions such as when advice is requested.
3. HAMS members are always expected to treat each other with mutual respect and never call each other bad names. Meanness of any sort will not be tolerated in HAMS groups and may be subject to disciplinary measures. When people fail to keep to their plans they are quite good enough at beating themselves up and require no outside help.
4. There is no rule against intoxication in HAMS groups; some people would never be able to participate in their first HAMS group if they had to be sober as a condition of coming in. However, members are expected to be well- behaved whether intoxicated or not. In the case of live HAMS meetings we encourage members to see that intoxicated members get home safely and do not drive drunk.
5. What HAMS members choose to do on their own time is their own business–this includes dating each other or drinking together. If you find it helpful to avoid drinking with other HAMS members then do so.
6. HAMS members cannot read minds or foretell the future. We respect each individual’s right to choose their own drinking goal and to pick their own tools and strategies to achieve it. We avoid the AA habit of saying “I used to be just like you” because we realize that everyone changes in their own unique ways as they follow their own unique paths through life.
7. It is up to each individual group how much time they wish to spend on humor and if they wish to discuss issues such as drugs or gambling in addition to alcohol. Some of us find that laughter is the best medicine and opt to mix humor with the serious business of harm reduction.
8. HAMS welcomes cross-talk, members are free to respond to what others have said. No one is forced to speak against their will, lurkers and observers are welcome. However we strive to make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk and that no one monopolizes the floor to themselves.
9. We respect the right of each individual to put together the components of their own plan which can include medications, supplements, psychotherapy, or what-have-you. Ultimately the decision to use or not use medications is between the individual and their doctor–we do not condone pro-medication or anti-medication browbeatings.

It does not matter how much or how little a person drinks, their drug of choice, their harm reduction goal, their race, color, creed, sex, gender, sexual preference and spelling ability. We strive to meet every person “where they are at”. If a person gets drunk every day and their goal choice is to quit drinking and driving but not to drink less–we support that. If a person drinks one glass of wine a week and thinks that is too much and wants to quit alcohol entirely–we support that. We support the individual in making any positive change which they choose for themselves. HAMS is here to encourage every success and to recognize every positive change, no matter how small. Small steps make for big changes.

REFERENCES:

Miller WR, Rollnick S. (2002). Motivational Interviewing, Second Edition: Preparing People for Change. The Guilford Press.

Copyright © 2012, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

AA likes people to be powerless because then AA can claim to be their higher power and the salvation without which they will die. AA empowers itself by disempowering its members. This is what makes the first step of AA dangerous. Never say that you are powerless.

This is also what makes AA members so vocal in claiming that AA is the only way. Since they have abandoned their personal self-efficacy to a group, they truly do believe that they will die if they have to rely on their own power instead of AA. This is what cults do and this is a basic brainwashing technique. It is very efficient at creating extremely vocal converts; however, it is not very good at helping people to stop drinking. In that area the success rate of AA is often found to be about the same as an untreated control group. Contrary to popular opinion, alcoholism is not a progressive disease and the normal outcome of addiction is recovery without treatment. Check out this link for verification:

http://www.spectrum.niaaa.nih.gov/features/alcoholism.aspx

The good news is that “I am ____” statements can be used for empowerment as well as disempowerment. Our newest HAMS exercise is to fill in the blank of the “I am ___” statement with something empowering like “I AM POWERFUL, ALCOHOL IS POWERLESS!”

Try it yourself today. What do you want to fill in the blank with? Repeat to yourself five times and that will help you to become what you desire!

Copyright © 2011, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

http://leavingaa.com/

Although conventional treatments based on the 12 steps have helped millions of people, the NIAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse) tells us that less than 20 % of people with Alcohol Dependence will recover via AA or a 12 step treatment program. Even though the majority of people with an addiction will eventually recover, there can be a tremendous amount of damage on the way.

Harm reduction offers a means of engaging people in the recovery process who object to conventional treatment programs because of either the abstinence requirement or the spiritual component. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of harm reduction interventions. Tonight Beverly’s guest Kenneth Anderson will be sharing with us the alcohol harm reduction strategies which he has written about in his book “ How to Change Your Drinking: a Harm Reduction Guide to Alcohol” and which are used in the HAMS harm reduction support group.

Join Beverly and Kenneth as they discuss:

1. how demanding perfection can backfire and leave people worse off than before

2. how people are more successful when they choose the way they change themselves

3. how becoming a safer drinker is better than choosing not to change at all

4. how people who find they cannot stand AA may do better with another approach – and there are plenty!

Here is a link to the Guyana Folk Festival Literary Hang site.

Copyright © 2011, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

Victims dead from Dr. Drew’s rehab include Jeff Conaway and Mike Starr.

Even more rape and death from Dr. Drew’s non-famous patients: ABC News: ‘Celeb Rehab’ Doc’s Facility Has 3 Deaths in 5 Months.

Amy Winehouse said she didn’t want to go to rehab. She got sent and now she is dead.

Amy Winehouse’s Rehab on YouTube

Rehab kills. Harm reduction saves lives.

Copyright © 2011, The HAMS Harm Reduction Network

http://www.oneradionetwork.com/healing-modalites/kenneth-anderson-hams-harm-reduction-for-alcohol-learning-to-drink-responsibly-july-20-2011/